Stovetop Homemade Naan – Indian Bread

Stovetop Homemade Naan Recipe- Indian Naan Bread

The homemade naan is an absolute treat, which when made properly just melts in the mouth. This simple, easy and effortless recipe will make the most deliciously soft and supple bread that can be used to scoop any Indian curry, wrapped around meats. This recipe works perfectly when made on the stovetop, baked in the oven or even grilled on a hot summers day.

Stovetop Homemade Naan Recipe – Homemade Indian Naan | how to make Naan bread at home

If you love Indian food then you probably have eaten naan. If not? the next time you visit an Indian restaurant make sure you order naan. yep! Absolutely amazing Indian bread. Taste delicious and is perfect for any Indian dish.

What is Naan?

Indian flatbread!! Naan is actually a Persian word for bread and it’s pronounced as ‘NAHN’. The traditional naan is baked in a tandoor oven which is why you don’t often get it made at home! We at home don’t own tandoor ovens so we usually make other Indian bread like chapati, roti, paratha, kulcha etc.

Of course, the bread is so delicious that its’ a pity if you have to wait to go to a restaurant every single time you craved for naan! right? So often we make Naan at home despite the lack of a tandoor oven.

The recipe itself is simple and easy. It’s the process and time needed to ferment and add that depth of flavor that makes a huge difference. If you asked my mom to make naan? The dough has to be made the night before. Kept in the fridge until it really has the time to ferment so the yeast has time to make do its thing.

Stovetop Naan, Homemade Naan, Naan bread recipe, Easy Naan Recipe.

Video – Quick version of the slow detailed YouTube video (below)

Stovetop vs Oven Cooking

I have tried making the Naan in my oven, as well as on the stop top just like my chapati. The difference – The oven has to be at 220 Cor 440 F, kinda hot!! You have to make sure you take it off just at the right moment. If not it can dry out making it really tough. Sometimes it can even get hard due to overcooking.

I have given you both method below because I have tried both. You choose which you prefer. Over the years I have found that making the naan on the stove top just as I do my chapati works the best for me!!!

Flour – Naan is traditionally made with all-purpose flour but go ahead and substitute some of that with whole wheat flour. Taste delicious. I know cause I’ve tried it. I will share it with you soon too!

Yogurt – Apart from adding softness and flavor this really helped with over-night fermenting adding a unique special flavor. Try not to substitute.
If you must; try non-dairy yogurt like coconut yogurt. I have not tried it so can’t troubleshoot. If you try, please let us know in the comments below.

Egg – Helps keep the naan soft and flaky. If you need to make it eggless, you can replace the egg with 1/4 cup more yogurt.

Warm water – the water MUST be warm, not hot or cold. Hot water will kill the yeast while cold water will not revive the yeast. So has to be around 110 F

Instant dry yeast – I like to use instant dry because I’ve always had great success with it. If you have to use active dry yeast you will need 2 1/4 tsp or one envelope, and if you use fresh yeast you will need about 21 grams. It’s not necessary to activate the yeast but I like to take the guesswork out and make sure my dough will rise

Stovetop Naan, Homemade Naan, Naan bread recipe, Easy Naan recipe..

Overnight naan bread

I don’t think I ever saw my mom make instant naan. She always made the dough the night before. In fact, she proved most of her bread doughs overnight. If you plan your naan bread ahead of time. I highly recommend you prepare the dough the night before and let it rise in the fridge overnight. The overnight resting adds a unique fermented flavor that’s very authentic and delicious with that strong bread smell you get at a bread house.

Just make sure you thaw the bread for a good two to three hours before you plan to roll it out. When thawed the dough be a pleasure to work with and you will find yourself making naan more often than you plan.

Video – A more detailed version of the above video – Don’t forget to subscribe for more videos

Stovetop Homemade Naan Bread Recipe aka Indian Naan

The homemade naan is an absolute treat, which when made properly just melts in the mouth. This simple, easy and effortless recipe will make the most deliciously soft and supple bread that can be used to scoop any Indian curry, wrapped around meats. This recipe works perfectly when made on the stovetop, baked in the oven or even grilled on a hot summers day.

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About Veena Azmanov

Veena Azmanov is a professional Cake Artist and Food Enthusiast. The Founder, Editor, Creator and Recipe Developer on this blog. Follow her cake and food journey on this blog as she explores new and classic recipes with a twist.

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Comments

Hi Veena,
I’m thinking of making a batch to freeze and have on hand when needed. At what point do you think would be best to freeze it? After / Before proofing? After shaping? After cooking? Not at all? Please let me know what you would recommend.

Rosalynn. I freeze these too but only after I have cooked them and cooled them completely. So make the pita batch as shown. Cool them completely. Once cooled I pile them in a brown paper bag wrapped properly and into the freezer. When I need them (usually I need one or two) I place the frozen pita in the microwave for 30 seconds or more. The condensation melts right into the pita making it softer. Then I toated it on the open flame to toast it or dry off any excess moisture.

We love naan in our house but have never made a stop top naan before. I love it. I think those black specs you get when you cook on the stove add to the flavor. I served it with your slow cooked lamb masala recipe and it was super hit. Everyone was raving about it. Thank you so much for both these awesome recipes.

Thank you so much Pushpendra. Happy to hear you enjoyed both these recipes. They definitely go great together. Thank you so much for taking the time to come leave this feedback. Appreciate it very much

Gosh Veena..I’m ashamed to say I have never tasted Naan Bread.. We love homemade curries but use wraps with the curry. The naan recipe looks so versitile. It’s brilliant that you posted step by step photos, makes it so much easier to understand the method

I’d never had naan until my son came home from spending a year in Afghanistan. When he got home I asked him what he wanted me to cook — it was naan. OMG!! You’re right it is so good. Now the recipe I used I had to brush melted garlic butter on it. Your recipe is authentic, mine probably wasn’t but it was so good. I’ll have to make your recipe for him.

Marisa. If you read my recipe it also gives you variation, you can make it with butter naan, garlic naan or sprinkle some nigella or chopped cilantro. The variations are endless. We love naan in our home very much

We LOVE naan at my house too. It’s the highlight of any Indian meal that we order in, but it’s been too much work to make it myself. I love that you have instructions for stovetop – makes it so much easier!!

I”ve seen a lot of naan online but only last week tried it. I went to a grocery that carriers different things than my normal store. I picked up a small package of naan, and I like it! Nice to see it’s something I could try making at home. Thanks for sharing!

Tandoor is always best for cooking Naan, since it is not available I like the idea of making in stove top. Baking Naan make it harder that is what I learned. Love your Thali with Naan. bread. Also I like that you added egg in the recipe. That is what I heard from street vendor in delhi.

I have always wanted to make the naan on the stove top as it is definitely less hassle than oven. That is one good post with very detailed explanation. I do agree that the dough left overnight for proofing has so much more flavor.

I have yet to make Naan bread. I buy it all the time at the grocery store. I guess I should really give this a try, since homemade is always better than bought. This is the perfect little kitchen experiment for a rainy afternoon!!